Everyone remembers the big headlines from November 2020. It was the "blue wall" crumbling and then being rebuilt, the late-night shifts in Pennsylvania, and the endless cable news cycles. But if you look closer at the 2020 election results including third party candidates, a much weirder, more nuanced story starts to emerge. It’s not just a Joe Biden versus Donald Trump story.
Honestly, most of us treat third parties like a footnote. We shouldn’t. While they didn't capture any electoral votes, their presence—or lack thereof—in certain states basically shifted the entire map. In an election decided by roughly 43,000 votes across three "tipping point" states, a few thousand people choosing the Libertarian or Green ticket isn't just a protest; it's a decider.
The Big Picture: By the Numbers
Before we get into the "spoiler" drama, let's just lay out the hard facts. Joe Biden won. He secured 306 electoral votes compared to Donald Trump's 232. In the popular vote, Biden pulled in a record-shattering 81,283,501 votes (51.3%), while Trump grabbed 74,223,975 (46.8%).
But what about the "others"?
Roughly 2.9 million Americans looked at the two main options and said, "No thanks." That’s about 1.8% of the total electorate. It’s a significant drop from 2016, where third-party candidates snatched nearly 6% of the vote. That 4% shift back to the majors is a huge reason why the map looked so different the second time around.
🔗 Read more: Gerrymandering Explained: Does It Actually Mess With Presidential Elections?
The Major Minor Players
- Jo Jorgensen (Libertarian Party): She was the only third-party candidate on the ballot in all 50 states plus D.C. She pulled about 1,865,000 votes (1.1% to 1.2% depending on the final certification).
- Howie Hawkins (Green Party): He had a tougher time with ballot access than Jill Stein did in 2016. He ended up with around 400,000 votes (0.26%).
- Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente (Alliance Party): Picked up about 88,000 votes.
- Kanye West (Independent): Running under the "Birthday Party," he managed about 66,000 votes in the 12 states where he actually made the ballot.
Did the Libertarians "Cost" Trump the Election?
This is the question that keeps political junkies up at night. If you look at the 2020 election results including third party tallies in Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin, the Jorgensen vote was actually larger than the margin between Biden and Trump.
Take Arizona. Biden won it by about 10,457 votes. Jo Jorgensen? She got 51,465 votes there.
In Georgia, Biden's margin was 11,779. Jorgensen took over 62,000.
If you're a Republican strategist, it's easy to look at those numbers and scream. The conventional wisdom is that Libertarians pull more from the Right. If even a quarter of those Jorgensen voters had "come home" to Trump, the map would have stayed red. However, political scientists like Jonathan Cervas have noted that it’s never that simple. Many third-party voters simply wouldn't have voted at all if their candidate wasn't there.
The Green Party's Disappearing Act
Back in 2016, the Green Party was the ultimate boogeyman for Democrats. Many blamed Jill Stein for Hillary Clinton’s losses in Michigan and Pennsylvania. But in the 2020 election results including third party breakdowns, the Green Party was almost a non-factor in the swing states.
🔗 Read more: News in Panama City FL: What's Actually Changing in 2026
Howie Hawkins was left off the ballot in key places like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin due to legal challenges over petition signatures. In Michigan, he only got about 13,000 votes. Compare that to the 51,000 Jill Stein got in Michigan four years prior.
Because the Green Party footprint was so small, the "left-wing spoiler" narrative mostly evaporated. Biden didn't have to worry about a massive bleed-off to his left, which allowed him to focus entirely on winning over suburban moderates.
Why 2020 Was Different From 2016
In 2016, Gary Johnson (Libertarian) and Jill Stein (Green) were household names for a minute. They were seen as viable alternatives for people who truly disliked both Clinton and Trump.
By 2020, the "negative partisanship" was so high—basically, people hated the other side so much—that they weren't willing to "waste" a vote on a third party. They felt they had to vote for the "lesser of two evils" just to make sure the "greater evil" didn't win. This "flight to the majors" is why the third-party total plummeted from 8 million in 2016 to under 3 million in 2020.
Actionable Insights: What This Means for You
Understanding the 2020 election results including third party data isn't just a history lesson. It's a blueprint for how elections are actually won.
- Watch Ballot Access Laws: If you want to know how a state will go, look at who isn't on the ballot. Legal battles to keep third parties off the ticket are often more decisive than the actual campaigning.
- The "Spoiler" is a Math Game, Not a Moral One: Don't just look at the two-party margin. Always check if the third-party tally is larger than that margin. If it is, that's where the real "swing" happened.
- Third-Party Voters Aren't "Lost" Major Party Voters: Realize that many of these voters are truly independent. Assuming they would automatically go to the "closest" major party is a mistake pollsters make every cycle.
If you're looking at future elections, the lesson from 2020 is clear: when the stakes feel existential, the "third way" shrinks. But in a razor-thin margin, even a shrinking third party holds the keys to the White House.
💡 You might also like: Shooting San Angelo TX: The Reality of Safety and History in the Concho Valley
To dig deeper into your local data, you can check the Federal Election Commission (FEC) official 2020 report which breaks down every single vote cast for every single "Birthday Party" or "Socialist Workers Party" candidate across the country.
Next Steps for You:
You might want to compare these numbers to the 2016 results to see exactly which states saw the biggest third-party drop-off. Alternatively, checking the 2024 ballot access requirements for your state will show you if third parties will have an easier or harder time this go-around.